In the United Kingdom, within the Interflex operation, 30,000 Ukrainian military personnel have already completed training, finishing a year-long program seven weeks ahead of schedule. This was announced by the British Minister of Defense, Grant Shapps.
"The UK has trained more Ukrainian recruits than pledged - today BEATING our 30k target for the year 7 weeks early. We've brought in international partners & can be proud of the real world difference we're making for Ukraine's freedom here in the UK. Slava Ukraini" wrote Shapps on Twitter.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also commented on this:
"I am incredibly proud of all the British and Ukrainian soldiers, sailors, airmen and women involved in this major undertaking - their dedication and professionalism today is ensuring peace for our continent in the future."
30,000 Ukrainian recruits trained in largest UK military training effort since Second World War. Total number of Ukrainian soldiers trained under UK Armed Forces programmes is now more than 52,000
Ahead of schedule, the UK-led Op Interflex has reached the milestone of 30,000 recruits trained in the UK since June 2022 – taking the total number of trained Ukrainian soldiers to more than 52,000 since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2014.
The training was set up in the UK after Op Orbital, the British Army’s long term training programme in Ukraine, had to be paused when Russia launched its full-scale invasion against Ukraine in February 2022. Op Interflex launched in June 2022 and had the target of training 30,000 troops by the end of 2023.
Delivered in locations throughout the UK, the world-leading programme takes volunteer recruits who have joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine with little to no previous military experience and teaches them the skills required to survive and be effective in frontline combat. The training allows Ukraine’s forces to accelerate their deployments, rebuild their forces, and scale-up their resistance as they continue to defend their nation’s sovereignty against Russian invaders.
"Ahead of schedule, the UK-led Op Interflex has reached the milestone of 30,000 recruits trained in the UK since June 2022 – taking the total number of trained Ukrainian soldiers to more than 52,000 since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2014," the statement said.
After launching last summer, a number of international partner forces joined the programme, providing vital experience, training and insight into frontline combat. These countries include Canada, New Zealand, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Lithuania, The Netherlands and Australia. And today, NATO ally Romania has also confirmed its involvement, taking the total number of partner nations to ten.
